2017 rankings (part 1 - 31-15)

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No 31 - The 100 Most Pointless Things in the World - Alexander Armstrong &The only book I did not finish all year which means it takes the wooden spoon. Really liked 100 Most Pointless Arguments but just didn't click with this one. It just seemed a bit....more Pointless than I could take :)

No 30- Then We Came To An End - Joshua Ferris - Total Score 22/40 %This was very well written, the plot was quite entertaining with some unique characters but for me there was just no wow factor. Nothing that would make me go back and try another of Joshua's novels. Being an author must be really hard sometimes.

No 29 - Adrian Mole The Prostrate Years - Sue Townsend Sue Townsend was blind, mostly bed ridden and would die shortly after this book was finished. I only found this out after I finished reading it but made the darkness of the comedy far more understandable. Adrian Mole was an eighties icon that I remember fondly and reminds me never to read the follow up to 'To Kill a Mockingbird'​

No 28 - I Partridge - Alan Partridge This has received lots of praise from lots of places so the fact that it ranks so low for me doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it.....but only if people love Partridge and they have probably read it already, Won't be going near the sequel which is a shame as decent funny books are hard to come by. ​

No 27 - Whispers Underground -​A better book than its ranking would suggest but you need to read the other two Rivers of London books and it doesn't really move the series on. It just felt like middle series of TV show Lost in that now the author has his popular series he needed to save it from ending too quickly.

No 26 - Chasing The Sun - Richard CohenIf ever a book proves the adage that "less is more" it is this one. Two hundred pages too long in my opinion. The fact that I did finish it is a compliment to the quality of the writing and what's more important to life on earth than the sun? But it was such a slog in a way that similar length Three Swans which finished 3rd in 2015 wasn't at all . ​

No 25 - Futebol Nation - David Goldblatt - The old cliché "A game of two halves" is very appropriate for this study into Brazilian football. The first half felt like a book trying very hard to incorporate all aspects that impact the history of Brazilian culture so it felt stiff and ill at ease. In the second man the passionate fury of the games greed and corruption at the expense of the players and the people showed all of David's journalistic talents. ​

No 24 - Matchdays - Ronald RengBoth of the other Ronald Reng books I've read were about goalkeepers the position I Ioved to play. A Life Too Short is an amazing deeply moving and a history of the German football league the Bundesliga was never likely to be able to match it. But its central character, the talented but maverick player then manager Heinz Hoher was an inspired choice and reminded me of Brian Clough and I really enjoyed the way it was a written. A very positive number 24. ​

No 23 - How Did We Get Into This Mess - George​

No 22 - Doped - Jamie ReidI'll be honest after The Boys in the Boat I expected more from a Sports Book of the Year award winner that promised gangsters, illegal betting and a plot right out of a Sherlock Holmes novel. ​

No 21 - The Soundtrack of my Life - Dermot O'Leary

No 20 - Bigger Deal - Anthony HoldenI really enjoy poker every once in a while, in fact I am playing two low level games as I write this and have read a few books from This was a nice compliment to them. Anthony Holden can really write well as I imagine an arts critic for a national newspaper would have to and plays poker at a far higher level than I ever will. The book is showing it's age a little as all diary based books tend to but his experience of preparing and playing the madness that is The World Series of Poker in Vegas was good fun.

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No 19 - The Time Travellers Guide to Restoration Britain - Ian Mortimer

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No 18 - Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?This is a really good book for anyone who is intrigued by the title. The fact that it only made it 18th this year is a good indication that I read some great books and that it was a bit understated to be honest.

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No 17 - Norwegian Wood - Murakami I didn't enjoy this as much as 1Q84 although it was just as different in its own way. It did highlight the very sad subject of youth suicide in Japan. Murakami is a poet who finds a way to stay in your head long after the book has been put down and not many authors consistently manage that almost mystical art.

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No 16 - The Arm - Jeff PassanImported from America this was the most expensive book I read all year. This book proved the fact that reality is often messy and hard to understand and unlike fiction its not the authors fault! It would of been great to have had a clear answer to the causes of pitching injuries but I enjoyed the investigation and the section on youth baseball was brilliant. It is for Baseball fans only though.

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No 15 - The Road to Little Dribbling - Bill Bryson I think Bill is a national treasure and I have read almost all of his books despite the fact he seems to have no interest in sport!! This is Notes From A Small Island 2 and sees him at his most opinionated which most of the time I liked but when I didn't it was in danger of putting me off the book completely. Thinking about this book though mostly inspires me to get out and see more of our amazing countryside.